Freeranger Eggs is a free range egg farm at Grantville in the southern Australian state of Victoria. Our hens are never locked up, they are fed a natural diet of grains with no additives - and they are not beak-trimmed.
The only reason for removing the top part or even the tip of the beak is that when hens are confined in small spaces and in large numbers they often become aggressive and attack each other. On a true free range farm with plenty of space, all birds have full beaks.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Our new flock of ISA Brown pullets will start laying any day to keep up supplies for our regular customers. The 200 young hens settled in well and quickly accepted their big white Maremma guardian. We will soon have pullets eggs eggs available as well as our normal range of egg sizes from 950gram Megga dozens, 840g, 750g and 700g packs.UPDATE Monday, they have now started laying 3 or 4 eggs a day.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Many egg producers could be forced out of business with looming increases in the cost of poultry feed as a result of an expected poor grain harvest caused by drought.
Egg farmers across Australia are facing skyrocketing costs for feed, with grain prices rising as much as 60 per cent, from $280 to $450 per tonne in six month and expected to climb higher.
With feed making up at least 60 per cent of egg production costs, many producers are losing 20 per cent on their farm gate or wholesale prices.
the problem is most acute for cage and barn operations and the many thousands of intensive producers who pretend they are free range. Businesses with high stocking densities of 10,000 hens per hectare are unlikely to remain viable - so maybe we can all say 'goodbye' to the crooks.

Friday, August 17, 2018

CSIRO is calling for community input into research for Australian Eggs, covering sustainability,animal welfare and foods safety. To help them get a full picture, have your say! The survey is simple and doesn't take long to complete. https://research.csiro.au/eggs/

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The spread of disease through large flocks of poultry has been a farming issue for years and was one of the key reasons for introducing cages to allow for intensive egg production designed to meet demand.High outdoor stocking densities - such as the 10,000 hens per hectare approved by politicians in Australia is a recipe for disaster - not only for the hens but for food safety and the viability of farms. Details about poultry disease control have been published by the Poultry Hub http://www.poultryhub.org/health/health-management/
The article does not cover the additional problems of land sustainability, potential contamination of eggs sold to consumers as well as contamination of waterways and groundwater caused by high nutrient loads.

Monday, August 06, 2018

Canadian research will soon end the killing of day old male chicks at hatcheries around the world. Industry body,Egg Farmers of Ontario is in the process of patenting a process which it says can determine the sex of a chick before eggs are incubated.
Machinery manufacturers should soon have a prototype candling device available to determine the sex of embryos in eggs on the day an egg is laid.The hyper-eye technology uses Near Infrared Spectroscopy to deliver the outcomes. Research has been conducted in a number of countries, but it seems that Canada has beaten everyone to the punch by developing a system to identify male embryos and prevent them from being hatched. This will remove one of the major arguments from animal activists against egg farmers. They currently attack even free range farms over the destruction of male chicks at hatcheries because they are regarded as a by-product as they are unable to lay eggs.

About Me

With a background in journalism and public relations in the UK, Africa and Australia, I've been farming for over 30 years. I'm an Environmental Auditor and have been an egg industry auditor as well as a former President of the Free Range Egg and Poultry Association of Australia and the Free Range Farmers Association of Victoria.
Our farm has been designed for sustainable land management and we have a long involvement with Landcare. I have carried out regional flora and fauna surveys and have also run courses and lectured on community development, land management and run workshops on sustainability and setting up free range egg farms. .
The Freeranger Farm runs sheep, cattle and horses as well as laying hens - a genuine mixed farm. Everything on the farm is designed for minimal impact. As much as possible recycled materials are used, solar power helps to achieve our sustainability aims and the farm is not just carbon neutral - it is carbon positive.
Even our main shed, which includes the farm office, egg grading room, storage and maintenance facilities, was constructed mainly using recycled steel sections purchased at a farm clearing sale.